Buoy mooring anchor marker



Sept. 17. 1968 J. v. ANSELMI 3,401,413

BUOY MOORING ANCHOR MARKER James K flms'ema' ATTORNEYS p 17, 1968 J. v. ANSELMI 3,401,413

BUOY MOORING ANCHOR MARKER Filed Jar x. 20, 1966 s Sheets-Sheet a 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 'ITORNEYS Sept. 17, 1968 J. v. ANSELMI BUOY MOORING ANCHOR MARKER Filed Jan. 20, 1966 James M Jrzseima' United States Patent 3,401,413 BUOY MOORING ANCHOR MARKER James V. Anselmi, 16 Essex St., Deep River, Conn. 06417 Filed Jan. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 521,839 4 Claims. (Cl. 9-9) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A marker buoy for locating sunken cnaft. A buoyant body is provided with a reel having wound thereon a This application relates to a buoy mooring anchor marker 'and more particularly to a buoy for mooring a boat in shallow water which also acts as a marker for location of the boat in the event the boat sinks.

In recent years, the number of small pleasure marine craft in use has increased tremendously. Such craft are often moored i-n docks or in shallow water by attachment to poles secured into the ground. According to the prior art, such mooring devices have included ropes which extended from the craft and around mooring poles or buoys thrown over the mooring poles and attached to the craft. Such devices operate satisfactorily for mooring purposes, however, in the event the craft should sink, the location of the craft is difficult to determine since no marker will be available on the surface of the water to indicate the crafts location.

In accordance with the present invention, the problems of the prior art mooring devices are overcome by means of a relatively inexpensive buoy mooring anchor marker which can be positioned about mooring poles for mooring of a craft and which also contain therein a line capable of attaching to the craft, the line being wound about a rotatable spool within the buoy. The spool is placed under a predetermined amount of tension so that the spool will not unwind unless a predetermined minimum force is applied thereto. In this manner, in the event the craft should sink, the Water will place a sufficient upward force on the buoy due to the buoyance thereof and thereby overcome the tension on the spool to enable the buoy to remain at the surface of the water when the craft sinks. In this way the location of the craft is easily determined. It is apparent that the buoy of the present invention will also act as a marker when attached to the craft in the event the craft sinks at any time and not only while being moored.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a relatively inexpensive buoy mooring anchor which simultaneously acts as a marker for submerged craft.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a buoy mooring anchor marker containing a line carrying spool under a predetermined tension.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a buoy mooring anchor marker having therein a rotatable spool wound line capable of attachment to craft and the like.

The above objects and still further objects of this invention will immediately become apparent to those skilled in the art when considered in view of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is provided by way of example and not by way of limitation, wherein:

Patented Sept. 17, 1968 FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a craft being moored and utilizing a pair of buoy mooring anchor markers in accordance with the present invention for mooring and a third buoy mooring anchor marker positioned on the craft;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of a submerged rcnaft utilizing the buoy mooring anchor marker of the present invention as a marker device;

FIGURE 3 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the preferred embodiment of the buoy mooring anchor marker in accordance with the present invention; and

- FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a craft 1 floating upon the water 7. A pair 'of buoy mooring anchor markers 2 and 4 are secured to the craft by means of open eye hooks 11 and 12 positioned at the end of a line 9 and 10 which is wound about a spool (not shown) within the buoys 2 and 4. The buoys 2 and 4 are positioned about a pair of mooring rods 5 and 6 which extend above the water and are secured beneath the water in the earth 8. The craft 1 is thereby moored and 'anchored between the rods 5 and 6 by means of the buoy mooring anchor markers 2 and 4. A further pair of buoy mooring anchor markers 3 and 37 are positioned on the craft 1 over shafts 35 and 38 secured to the craft and can be utilized as a marker for the craft in a manner to be explained hereinbelow.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, there is shown the craft 1 submerged beneath the water level 7 and including the buoy mooring anchor markers 3 and 37 as shown in FIGURE l. The buoy mooring anchor markers 3 and 37 are secured to the craft 1 by means of lines 13 and 39 and open-eye hooks 14 and 40. The pressure of the water upon the buoys 3 land 37 has caused the buoys to surface and the lines 13 and 39, wound about spools (not shown) within the buoys 3 and 37, have Iunwound due to this pressure. Accordingly, the buoy mooring anchor markers 3 and 37 are acting as markers for the submerged craft 1.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, there is shown the buoy mooring anchor marker 2, 3 or 4 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The buoy includes a rigid frame 15 which can be made of steel or the like. This frame includes four sections composed of two crossing orthogonal sections numbered 16, 17, 18 and 19. A buoyant material 20 is secured to the end portions of the frame 15 by molding or the like. The buoyant material 20 can be wood, cork, polyurethane foams and any other known buoyant material.

An eye-bolt 21 is secured to the frame 19 and extends through the buoyant material 20 outwardly of the buoy to provide an attaching means thereto. The open-eye bolt 21 is shown locked to the portion 19 of the frame 15 by means of an enlarged lug portion 22, secured to a shaft 23 which passes through an aperture in the frame portion 19.

The frame portion 17 includes an aperture containing a channel member 24 which extends through the aperture in the frame portion 17 and outwardly and inwardly through the buoyant material 20 to provide a passage entirely through the buoyant material 20. This channel contains a wire 25 which is similar to wires 9, 10 and 13 of the buoys 2, 4 and 3 respectively. The wire 25 is secured to an open-eye hook 26 at one end thereof. The channel member 24 is secured in the aperture of the buoyant material by a securing device 36 aflixed to the frame 15.

The frame structure 15 defines a hollow center portion in which is positioned a bearing member 27 having a threaded portion 28 at one end thereof for receiving a threaded nut 29. The other end of the bearing 27 has a flange portion whereby the bearing is locked in position in the frame aperture by means of the flange and the threaded nut 29. A spool member 30 is secured within the frame member 15 and about the outer portion of the bearing 27 and in sliding relation therewith. The spool member 30 is positioned by means of a pair of annular bearing guides 31 and 32 positioned between the spool 30 and the frame 15. The wire 25 is wound about the spool 30 and the inner end of the wire 25 is secured to the spool or elsewhere within the buoy structure.

A tensioning bolt 33 is secured within the frame portion 19 and is rotatable therein to provide predetermined amounts of tension to the spool member 30. A second nut number 34 is also provided as a locking member or guide means for the bolt 33.

The entire spool member may be enclosed in a water tight container if so desired. In addition, numerical markings or the like can be placed upon the buoyant material for proper identification of the submerged craft.

The buoy mooring anchor marker of the present invention, as stated hereinabove, may be used for mooring in the manner described and shown in FIGURE 1. When used as shown in FIGURE 1, the tensioning bolt 33 will be tightened to prevent any rotation of the spool member 30. The buoy mooring anchor markers 2 and 4 will rise and fall with the Water and, therefore, the wires 9 and from the buoy to the craft will be relatively taut since the distance from the craft to the buoy will remain relatively unchanged. In this manner, the craft will not be free to wander about in the water. In the event the craft 1 were to become submerged, the upward force provided by the water upon one of the buoys or both (as shown in FIGURE 2) would cause the buoy to overcome a mini mized tension applied to the spool 30 by the tensioning device 33 and either rise to or stay at the surface of the water, as the case may be. Accordingly, the buoys will also operate as marker devices for submerged craft or, for any other submerged object to be marked.

What is claimed is:

1. A marker comprising a buoyant body, a reel rotatably mounted on the body, and brake means carried by the body for resisting rotation of the reel, the body having a buoyant force in water sufficient to overcome the resistance of the brake means, said buoyant body comprising a rigid frame and a buoyant annulus surrounding the frame, said rigid frame comprising crossed arms and an aperture through the arms at their intersection, and further including a bearing secured in the aperture, said reel being rotatably mounted on the bearing.

2. A marker as defined in claim 1 further including aligned apertures in an arm and annulus and a cord Wound on the reel and extending through the apertures.

3. A marker as defined in claim 1 wherein the brake means comprises a bolt threaded in an arm and engaged with the reel.

4. A marker as defined in claim 1 further including a post for engagement with a craft extending through the aperture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 541,789 6/1895 Kunzelman 98 2,418,549 4/1947 De Rugeris 99 2,814,054 11/1957 Phillips 98 3,259,927 7/1966 Devis 9- 8 3,317,936 5/1967 Johnson et a1. 99 X 524,243 8/1894 Bulette 9-9 2,342,868 2/1944 King 9311 X MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. MAJOR, Assistant Examiner. 

